Professional services
A web design agency's invoice should separate one-time build work from recurring charges. Website design and development is SAC 998314 at 18%; hosting is 998315 and website maintenance falls under IT support, 998313, also at 18%. Domain registrations bought in the agency's name and resold are part of its taxable supply. List the pages or modules built, the milestone (design approval, development, go-live), the hosting plan and term, and the maintenance period, so renewals can be invoiced cleanly each year.
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Or create these invoices in software, free| Description | HSN/SAC | Qty | Rate (₹) | Taxable (₹) | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business website design and development, 12 pages, responsive, milestone 2: go-live | 998314 | 1 OTH | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 18% |
| E-commerce module with payment gateway integration | 998314 | 1 OTH | 40,000.00 | 40,000.00 | 18% |
| Shared hosting plan, 12 months | 998315 | 1 OTH | 6,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 18% |
| Domain registration, .in, 1 year | 998315 | 1 OTH | 900.00 | 900.00 | 18% |
| Website maintenance plan, 12 months, 2 update hours per month | 998313 | 1 OTH | 18,000.00 | 18,000.00 | 18% |
| Taxable value | ₹1,24,900.00 | ||||
| GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state) | ₹22,482.00 | ||||
| Invoice total | ₹1,47,382.00 | ||||
Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:
Read more: SAC Codes for IT and Software Services Under GST · Advance Payment Under GST: Receipt Vouchers, Tax and Adjustment · Export Invoice Under LUT: How to Bill Exports Without Paying IGST · Reverse Charge Mechanism Under GST: When the Buyer Pays the Tax
The official SAC list puts IT design and development at 998314, hosting and IT infrastructure provisioning at 998315 and IT consulting and support at 998313. A web agency usually needs all three on its invoice templates. They share the 18% rate, which the September 2025 rationalisation left unchanged, but the HSN summary in GSTR-1 must split turnover by code.
Agencies buy domains and hosting from registrars and resell them. Because the agency contracts in its own name and sets its price, these are part of its own taxable supply at 18%, with input credit on what it paid. Only where the client is the registrant and account holder and the agency merely pays the exact amount on its behalf can the charge be treated as a pure-agent reimbursement.
Web projects take a 30-50% advance. GST on that advance is payable when received through a receipt voucher. The milestone invoices then adjust the advance. Projects that stall at design approval often stay unbilled for months; check the contract's payment due date, since tax may become due even if the client delays sign-off.
Agencies building sites for clients abroad export services when the client is outside India and pays in foreign exchange. File an LUT and invoice without IGST. Hosting bought from a foreign provider for those clients may involve IGST on import of services under reverse charge, which the agency can claim back as credit.
Hosting, domain and maintenance renew each year. Invoice renewals at the start of the term, and if the client cancels, issue a credit note rather than leaving the invoice unpaid in the books.
Agencies under ₹50 lakh may consider the services composition scheme, but most serve clients in other states and abroad, which composition does not allow.
Many agencies sell fixed packages, such as a five-page starter website with one year of hosting and a domain, at a single price. That is a composite or mixed bundle of IT services, all at 18%, so the rate is not affected by bundling. What does matter is renewal: if the package includes the first year of hosting and domain, the second year must be invoiced as a separate supply when it starts. List the package contents on the first invoice so the client knows what renews and when, and keep the renewal date in your billing system, because lapsed domains are the most common source of client complaints in this trade.
Agencies often add copywriting, stock photos or product photography to a website project. Where the agency supplies these as part of the build and contracts any photographer itself, they form part of the taxable development fee. Stock image licences bought in the agency's name are its cost. Show them as lines within the project so the client can see what was purchased and own the licences afterwards.
Website design and development under SAC 998314 is taxed at 18%.
Yes, at 18%, when the agency buys the domain and resells it to the client.
Maintenance and support fall under IT consulting and support, SAC 998313, at 18%.
Not if the supply qualifies as export of services and you have an LUT. The invoice is zero-rated.
Bill the package as one or more 18% lines in the first year, listing what is included, and invoice hosting and domain renewals separately each following year.
Sources: PIB — Recommendations of the 56th GST Council (Annexure III, services rate changes) · GSTN — Official HSN/SAC master list (SAC_MSTR sheet) · GST Council — Notification 11/2017-CT(Rate), services rates (consolidated)
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